Sunshine Reggae | Portland || Jamaica

we play

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Even though Bob Marley kept repeating “Don’t worry, don’t hurry, take it easy…” we just couldn’t help ourselves but to hurry to book our flights from cold New York to sunny Kingston for some much needed sunshine reggae after a seemingly never ending winter and rainy spring in the Northern hemisphere.

Join us and hum along as we explore the Portland Parish in the North Eastern part pf Jamaica and “…let the good vibes get a lot stronger… sunshine, sunshine reggae.”

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#100gramsofsun #sunshinereggae

we go

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In our minds Jamaica IS the equivalent of sunshine, so we found it hard to believe the forecast that predicted 100% rain and thunderstorms every single hour of our getaway.

“don’t worry, everything is gonna be alright”, the locals chucked us off with a warming smile after seeing our concerned faces, “the sun will shine and if it rains, hey, just feel the rain and don’t get wet.”

Turns out that they were right, most parts of our days were filled with bright sunshine, with afternoon showers, and heavy down pours at night. Who would have thought that the pounding storms would become our favorite part while cuddling up in our cozy tree house at Kanopi House.

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#feeltherain #singingdontworry

we stay

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We stayed in a dreamy tree house located right above the Blue Lagoon, approximately 60 miles north of Kingston.

Kanopi House is a small privately owned property with just 4 beautifully curated wooden houses nestled up in the trees with gorgeous views of the Blue Lagoon. Two rather rough but larger roads lead you there in approximately 2.5-3 hours on an adventurous road trip. We guarantee you that great ocean views will make it worth your bumpy ride.

Even though the property feels very private and secluded, we never felt alone when we needed anything: Boxer was there to help us with every little need we had, organized a raft trip on the Blue Lagoon and boat trips to nearby local beaches like San San Beach, Winifred Beach, Long Bay, Boston Beach and Monkey Island for us.

we dream

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San San Beach was one of these local beaches best reached by boat. It can also be reached by car, but you would have to hike down a few minutes (and back up!)

Maybe that’s the reason, why we had this beach all to ourselves that day. My memories take me back to riding a wonderful horse a long the empty white beach and straight into the crystal clear waters for some refreshment (and no, I am not an avid rider, but these horses just love riding on the water and are not hard to navigate at all)

Occasionally you will be able to find some food and juice vendors around, and apparently locals come here on weekends for barbecue hang outs.

we love

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Nevertheless it was the Frenchman’s Cove that catapulted itself to the top of our favorite beaches the moment we arrived.

It was an all-in-one destination for all that our hearts could desire: float in the fresh water lagoon, swim in the warm salt water sea, sunbathe on the white sanded beach, play on 5+ swings and ropes, eat jerk chicken and order endless amounts of Jamaican Rum punches. What else could we possibly dream of, right?

Note that this is a private estate: $10 entrance fee to get in and $2 for a beach chair

we enjoy

Can you imagine a languid beach day in paradise without a cold glass of spiced rum punch?

Every island has a variation, but the classic recipe has been passed on by generation after generation with a rhyme:

One of sour- lime

Two of sweet – sugar

Three of strong – Jamaican Rum

Four of weak – water on ice

To get even more local, have a Red Stripe beer. It originated from the Blue Mountains, how much more local could it get?

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#blendingin #local

we reach

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As we were telling new friends over a few rum punches that we would like to visit the Reach Falls on our way back to the airport, they told us with mysterious instructions similar to a treasure map to meet Ken, an awesome guide the next day to show us around the falls.

Little did we know that the Reach Falls are closed on Mondays and the “new friends” we met actually own the property around the falls. How lucky were we?

We had jungle heaven all to ourselves, balanced our way on slippery stones, swam upstream in the refreshingly cold creek water and jumped into the waterfalls from atop. We couldn’t have dreamt of a better way to end our trip before heading back to the concrete jungle.